GENESIS

“Stop fiddling with your food and eat,” he commanded, his voice echoing with a deep authority that made me catch my breath. He was sitting uncomfortably close to me on the adjacent stool, right by the counter.

It wasn’t that I didn’t want to eat; the meal looked absolutely delectable, and my stomach rumbled like a beast at the mere sight of it. The real issue was that if I consumed more than my allotted share, I would face punishment, and that was something I desperately wanted to avoid.

“Go ahead, take more,” he urged as I twirled the spaghetti around my fork. I hesitated but eventually took a...